- Historic Bethabara Park preserves the site of the first Moravian settlement in North Carolina.

It was intended to be a temporary settlement while the Moravians established the nearby town of Salem.

Today, it's a national historic landmark with buildings, artifacts,and living history demonstrations that help tell the story.

- This is historic Bethabara Park.

Today it's peaceful, fields and forests, but in the 1700s, it was one of North Carolina's most important frontier towns.

But the story of this place doesn't start here.

It begins more than 600 years ago with a man who challenged the most powerful institution in Europe.

In 1415, a Czech preacher named Jan Hus was put on trial for criticizing the Catholic Church.

When he refused to take back his beliefs, he was executed, but his ideas didn't die with him.

Instead, they spread.

For the next three centuries, some of his followers, now known as Moravians, faced generations of persecution before carrying their message across Europe and eventually across the Atlantic.

One place they chose might seem surprising today, the North Carolina back country.

In 1753, Moravians purchased nearly 100,000 acres of wilderness on the colonial frontier and named the tract Wachovia.

Their first settlement here was called Bethabara, meaning house of passage, and it thrived.

- The church has missionaries all over the world and missionaries are great at making more Moravians, but they don't make a lot of money.

And so the church also needs to find a way to fund those missions.

So they're gonna use these frontier settlements to create goods that people on the frontier will need as they spread out further west.

- But within a few decades, something else would arrive in the Carolina back country, revolution and war.

Bethabara found itself caught in the American Revolution.

The prosperous Moravian town supplied passing troops and, after the Battle of Kings Mountain, was compelled to house hundreds of loyalist prisoners.

Today, historic Bethabara Park invites visitors to step into that history, exploring the remains of a frontier settlement shaped by faith, migration, and the challenges of the American Revolution.

- We are at historic Bethabara Park.

This was the first Moravian settlement in this state, and we like to say the birthplace of Winston-Salem.

- If you would spin this up, it'd probably make like a medium quality linen.

- Every day we have different trades going on.

We offer pottery, blacksmithing, woodworking, textiles demonstrations, spinning.

- Open year-round from dawn to dusk, Bethabara Park invites visitors to explore 18th century buildings and stroll through its historic medicinal garden.

- Moravians were very peaceful and very big on helping people, so they would have offered help to anybody that came through.

- Through interpretive stations, you learn about topics like Moravian involvement in war, Moravian medical practices, and visitors can even take part in hands-on demonstrations of traditional Moravian trades, experiencing firsthand the skills and craftsmanship that sustained the early community.

- This corner cupboard is a great example of early Moravian craftsmanship around the time of the American Revolution, actually.

So you're looking at, you know, almost 300 years old.

- The park is also adjacent to three miles of greenway trails for visitors to enjoy.

- If you want to come and you want to learn about the history, we have archaeological foundations and artifacts all over town.

We also have a visitor center with a museum area that you can come explore.

And then if you're more naturally inclined, you can explore our preserve.

We have two historic 18th century Moravian cemeteries, one for Moravians and one for non-Moravians who would have died in town.

- You can also experience Bethabara through guided tours or a free app with English and Spanish audio.

- As an American today, or most of us, luckily, have never had to think about what war happens to look like when it's happening in your backyard, the Moravians would have been very aware of that.

- We're kind of like a hidden gem of the city.

Learn more about the city, learn more about the people here and get to experience something different.

- Historic Bethabara Park is located in Winston-Salem and is open every day from dawn to dusk.

For visitor center hours and more information, visit historicbethabara.org.